Çavuşoğlu made an assessment on the Cyprus problem and hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean

Stating that the riches in the region should be shared fairly, Çavuşoğlu said: “We also support the proposal of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to establish a joint commission”.

Çavuşoğlu who has been in New York for the meetings of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly met with members of the Turkish press. Çavuşoğlu made an assessment on the Cyprus problem and the hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Çavuşoğlu continued:

“There are two issues at the moment related to Cyprus. One of them is the evaluation of hydrocarbon resources. We have upset the balances by sending our vessels there. We had already warned Greece several times, and also the international community including the European Union, and the guarantor country UK that the Greek Cypriot side should halt their unilateral activities and that they can continue these activities after guaranteeing the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, yet no one has taken into consideration our advice so far. Maybe they didn’t take us seriously but they understood the seriousness after sending our vessels. “

Indicating that the riches in the region should be shared fairly, Çavuşoğlu said: “We also support the proposal of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to establish a joint commission. Essentially, although they do not say clearly, there is great interest and support from the international community. This is a solution proposal. This needs to be done”.

Underlining that Turkey never argues the activities within its own continental shelf and that this is a matter of sovereignty, Çavuşoğlu made an assessment regarding whether the negotiations will be held or not.

“We have negotiated for a federation for 50 years but no solution has been reached. Despite all our constructive approaches in Crans Montana, we could not reach a solution concerning the federation because the Greek Cypriot side did not want to share anything with the Turkish Cypriot side, including political equality. There is no meaning to start negotiating for the sake of resuming negotiations. What should it be? There must be a result-oriented negotiation. We cannot enter a process that will end with failure again. It would be a venture, and it would be hope for the Turkish Cypriot people in vain. “

Stating that first of all what will be negotiated should be determined, Çavuşoğlu said that the main issue is political equality.

Çavuşoğlu said: “We have now made our 5 + 1 offer, we will unofficially talk about what we will negotiate at a meeting attended by the guarantor countries, the two sides on the island and the UN and then we will make a decision and we will create a reference document. It is definitely not possible to continue where we left off in Crans Montana because the result was extremely unsuccessful”.